Tuxentius cretosus explained

Tuxentius cretosus, the savanna pied Pierrot, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Kenya.^[1] The habitat consists of dry savanna and Guinea savanna.

It differs from Tuxentius calice gregorii (Butler, 1894) thus:Marginal band of the forewing above irregular with 1 to 4 distinctly prominent white spots.Submarginal line of the forewing beneath entirely coherent, not interrupted by the lightveins.^[2]

The larval host plant also serves as the nectar source for the adults. Adult males mud-puddle.

The larvae feed on Ziziphus jujuba.

Subspecies

• Tuxentius cretosus cretosus (Ethiopia, coast of Kenya)
• Tuxentius cretosus lactinatus (Butler, 1886) (Somalia)
• Tuxentius cretosus nodieri (Oberthür, 1883) (Senegal, the Gambia, Burkina Faso, northern Ghana, Mali, northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon)
• Tuxentius cretosus usemia (Neave, 1904) (Uganda, northern and western Kenya)

Notes and References

1. http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/lycaenidae_polyommatini_1.doc Afrotropical Butterflies: Lycaenidae - Tribe Polyommatini (part 1)
2. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.